A Rohingya politician from Sittwe (Akyab), Arakan, who served as a Member of Parliament and was appointed Minister of Health in Prime Minister U Nu's government. As a cabinet minister he worked to expand healthcare in rural areas, including the Mayu frontier townships of Buthidaung, Rathedaung and Maungdaw, and he advocated for the rights and recognition of the Rohingya and their political inclusion within the Union of Burma.
Sources
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation. (2009). Arakan: News and Analysis of the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, Arakan (Burma). Burmalibrary.org.Khan, Raja Afsar. (1984). The Concept. p. 31.ResearchGate. (2020). Rohingya: The History of a Muslim Identity in Myanmar – Summary and Keywords.Ullah, Aman. (2016). Mr. Sultan Mahmud and Statehood of Arakan. The Stateless Rohingya.
A Rohingya voice in U Nu's cabinet
U Sultan Mahmud was a prominent Rohingya politician from Sittwe (Akyab), Arakan, who played an important role in Burma’s parliamentary era. Born in 1919, he pursued law and became active in politics during the years following independence.
He served as a Member of Parliament representing the Arakan region and was appointed Minister of Health under Prime Minister U Nu’s government in the 1950s. As a cabinet member, he worked to expand healthcare access and improve services in rural areas, including the Mayu frontier (Buthidaung, Rathedaung and Maungdaw townships) region where many Rohingya lived.
Sultan Mahmud was also one of the most vocal Muslim leaders from Arakan in the national arena. He advocated for the rights and recognition of Rohingya communities, pushing for their political inclusion within the Union of Burma. His leadership provided a bridge between Arakan’s Muslims and the central government at a time of fragile democracy.
He continued to serve in politics through Burma’s shifting landscape but was later sidelined following the 1962 military coup that ended democratic governance. Despite this, his role as a cabinet minister remains a key part of Rohingya political history.
U Sultan Mahmud passed away in 1994, remembered as one of the highest-ranking Rohingya figures in Burma’s post-independence government.
